Before Crisis: The Beginning
By DarkAngel
Disclaimer: 'Tisn't mine. Square-Enix owns everything but my imagination and the fruits it bears. 83
Chapter 15: A Distraction with Teeth (St. Andrew)
With an uppercut to the stomach of his enemy, St. Andrew quickly picked up his rod from where it had fallen on the ground, using it to knock the AVALANCHE operative in the head. The cracking sound as the EMR made contact with the other man's skull satisfied St. Andrew – payback was a bitch. Whipping around, he swung his weapon at another man, who went down with an abortive grunt.
Breathing harshly, St. Andrew looked around. He'd taken down half a dozen men already, but still more were running down the street toward him, shouting slogans, weapons and fists raised. Damn it, how had the boys missed something as big as this?
His PHS rang, and St. Andrew made an annoyed "tch" sound. Hadn't Tseng just called a minute ago? What the hell was he doing?
"Tseng tells me you've come against a large contingent." It was Veld's voice. Instinctively, St. Andrew snapped to attention before realizing how stupid the gesture was – the Turk commander was in no position to see him, and he had more important things to do at the moment. Running, he turned up a side street that would lead him to the set of stairs taking him back to the upper part of the city. He couldn't fight and talk, but he could run.
"Yes sir," St. Andrew said tightly, leaping up the steps as quickly as he could. Behind him, he could hear the enraged shouting of the AVALANCHE operatives. Something whizzed past his ear and he swore before remembering who he was on the phone with. The bastards had guns too.
"There's a new plan. I want you to head for the Junon branch office. Head for the top floor – that's the President's suite. I'll give you new orders when you arrive."
"Understood. What about the defence of the city, though?"
"The Junon guards have been mobilized. Several of them are converging on your position. Stay at the top of the stairs and fend them off for as long as you can. Don't let any of them get through."
St. Andrew grinned, a wicked expression that showed teeth. So the enemy would be trapped on both sides. The high, narrow walls on either side of the staircase would prevent escape. AVALANCHE wouldn't stand a chance. "Gotcha," he replied.
"Reno and Rosalind are currently working to reset the cannon. The President's in his suite. A paramedic team's been dispatched. You'll have to stay with him until he's loaded onto a helicopter."
"Roger," St. Andrew said. He clicked his phone off. Turning around, he saw that dozens of the operatives had pursued him. It was going to be a challenge, dealing with this many people by himself.
Leaping up one more set of stairs, he stopped abruptly, swinging his EMR out in a wide arc. He grinned wolfishly at the startled operatives.
"Okay limp dicks. Bring it on."
To be continued…
Author's Notes: I know. I go away for ages and then come back with something that's really too short to be satisfying. XD I'm a cruel, cruel person. Rest assured the next bit shall be longer and we'll also be returning to our main storyline. :)
I'm also ready to put up some other fanfic in the next little while. One is an unbirthday gift for a friend. The fic features Reno and is written in stream-of-consciousness style that I've experimented with. The second is a Before Crisis one-shot featuring Katana and his beloved Murasame. :D See you on the other side!